Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. Buys 3,000 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. increased its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 300.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $467,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in Nucor by 8,530.1% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,595,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $239,819,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576,695 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,456,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $519,648,000 after buying an additional 571,682 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the third quarter worth about $74,829,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Nucor by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $205,282,000 after buying an additional 358,721 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,724,117,000 after purchasing an additional 326,181 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at $14,499,436. The trade was a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total value of $1,860,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at $29,109,918.96. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

NUE stock opened at $124.95 on Wednesday. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $112.25 and a 1-year high of $203.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $132.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.17. The company has a market capitalization of $29.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.57 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s payout ratio is presently 21.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NUE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Nucor from $168.00 to $152.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.63.

Nucor Company Profile

Nucor Corporation engages in manufacture and sale of steel and steel products. It operates in three segments: steel mills, steel products, and raw materials. The Steel Mills segment produces hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and galvanized sheet steel products; plate steel products; wide-flange beams, beam blanks, and H-piling and sheet piling structural steel products; bar steel products, such as blooms, billets, concrete reinforcing and merchant bars, and engineered special bar quality products; and engages in the steel trading and rebar distribution businesses.